Welcome to Lizzie Harper’s Website!

Blog out, on the glories and challenges of illustrating apple blossom:

https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2026/05/illustrating-apple-blossom/

Although blossom is incredibly beautiful, it`s also very ephemeral, so you need to work fast, before the flowers shed all their petals!

For more on this, and tips on colours to use and how to prolong the life span of blossom, take a read.
#blossom #botanicalillustration #botanicalart #appleblossom ...

Here are illustrations of two UK species of Squill, a plant in the same Scilloideae family as bluebells, hyacinth, and Grape hyacinth.

One grows in the spring, Spring squill Scilla verna. The other flowers in the autumn, Prospero or Scilla autumnalis. Both have long strap-like leaves with parallel veins, all at the base of the plant. They have pale blue flowers, and grow from bulbs.

The blue is a very nuanced colour, so when illustrating them it was important not to make the flowers far too vibrant.

I`ve seen loads of Spring squill in the wild, but am yet to see Autumn squill in real life. Maybe this will be the year?

#botanicalillustration #squill #scillaverna #scillaautumnalis #botanicalart noaiart ...

I`ve just published a blog on why I really love dandelions:

https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2026/03/dandelions-why-to-love-them/

Not only are they really beautiful, edible, and great for pollinators; they`re also fascinating. With over 235 species of dandelion in the UK alone, aren`t you a little tempted to learn more?

#taraxacum #dandelions #botanicalillustration #BotanicalArt #notoaigeneratedimages ...

So pleased to have my botanical illustrations feature in Grasslands by John Wright, published this month.

The cover, by Luna North, is a beautiful and atmospheric print.

My pictures, reproduced in monochrome, sit well with the text. It`s a lovely book, and looks like it`s going to be a fascinating read, too. Well done @profile.books

#botanicalillustration #publishing #Grasslands #noai ...

This is the Thrift clearwing moth Pyropteron muscaeforme on a Thrift flower, completed in watercolour for South Devon area of Natural Beauty.

This moth flies June - July and is found in rocky coastal habitats where thrift grows in abundance. Thrift is the foodplant for the caterpillars; the adults also visit Thyme flowers.

The Thrift clearwing is the smallest of the UK`s clearwings, and has window-clear rear wings, demarked with dark veins. Upper wings are brown and white, like the body.

Once of a series of insect illustrations none to show some of the insect diversity found along Devon`s coasts.

The second illustration is the atonal pencil rough, submitted to the commissioner for feedback and changes, and the third is a detail of the right hand wing, with Thrift flowers behind.

#clearwing #naturalhistoryillustration #thrift ...

New blog out, all about Bluebells:

https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2026/04/bluebells/

Not only how to identify them and tell them apart form other similar species, but a little bit on threats and folklore too.

Have a ready if you fancy something suitably vernal on this gorgeous spring day.

#bluebells #Hyacinthoides #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #notoaigeneratedimages ...